Word.ws English Dictionary

have a bone to pick

have a bone to pick verb: to have a complaint or grievance (with somebody); to have a contentious issue to discuss.

Verb

have a bone to pick (third-person singular simple present has a bone to pick, present participle having a bone to pick, simple past and past participle had a bone to pick)

  1. (idiomatic, usually) To have a complaint or grievance (with somebody); to have a contentious issue to discuss.
    • "I offered her that sum if she would take the garment back. And she did, she did, and I shall never have to wear that dreadful satin again." ¶ I made a note of this dressmaker's name. She and I may have a bone to pick some day.c. 1900, Anna Katharine Green, The Ruby and the Cauldron
    • "I have a bone to pick with you," said Mrs Bosenna. . . . "You have not been near Rilla for weeks," she went on, reproachfully.1912, Arthur Quiller-Couch, chapter 18, in Hocken and Hunken

Forms of have a bone to pick

third-person singular presenthas a bone to pick
present participlehaving a bone to pick
past participlehad a bone to pick
pasthad a bone to pick

Questions about have a bone to pick

What does have a bone to pick mean?
Have a bone to pick means to have a complaint or grievance (with somebody); to have a contentious issue to discuss.
What part of speech is have a bone to pick?
Have a bone to pick is a verb.
What is the past tense of have a bone to pick?
The past tense of have a bone to pick is had a bone to pick.

Words near have a bone to pick in the dictionary

  1. have a bar of it
  2. have a bird
  3. have a bite
  4. have a blessed one
  5. have a bone in one's leg
  6. have a bone to pick
  7. have a brick in one's hat
  8. have a bun in the oven
  9. have a care
  10. have a clue
  11. have a cob on

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: have a bone to pick (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-have a bone to pick.ogg.

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